Sony Entertainment Television Asia is all set to commence operations in Canada. It has recently concluded its distribution deal with Asia Television Network, Canada, a leading media company, primarily catering to the south Asian community.

"Its a long-term tie-up. We are serious about our operations in Canada and with this tie-up, SET Asia will be the first 24-hour Hindi general entertainment channel in Canada," said Kunal Dasgupta, chief executive officer, SET India.

The channel which is due to be launched in March 2003 in Canada, will be part of the ATN bouquet. "The feed will go to Canada from London where we already have a presence. We are pleased with our tie-up with ATN as it will bring quality entertainment to the south Asians in Canada," said Dasgupta.

"We are delighted with our partnership with SET Asia. We expect to have this impressive channel with our current licensed service, subject to regulatory approval, and offer a compelling package to our audiences," said Shan Chandrasekhar president and chief executive of ATN.

SET Asia shows have been programmed in such a way that an episode which is aired at 9 pm IST will also air at 9 pm local time in Canada. Hence time and day for a programme does not change for Canadian viewers.

Internationally, SET already has a presence in the UK, US, Caribbean, Africa, Australia and parts of Europe (including UK, Norway and Portugal). "The launch of SET Asia in Canada is part of SET's international business plan expansion," said Rajan Singh, executive vice president, international business.

Singh will also be responsible for setting up and heading the operations in Canada. "SET's international business has been growing at a rate of 25 per cent per annum despite the fact that these markets are under recession," he added.

SET is also readying itself to launch its services in West Asia on a new platform. Talking about pricing, Chandrasekhar said that ATN is still deciding on the exact price for the channel. The other channels in the ATN bouquet are charged Canadian $14.95 on a stand alone basis. For a two-channel package, the company charges C $25.

The south Asian diaspora in Canada extends to close to a million people. That's the market that SET Asia is targeting. ATN currently owns and operates four south Asian channels namely ATN, ATN Movies, ATN Alpha Punjabi and a south Indian channel. It has been awarded the license for eight more digital channels.